Sunday, March 24, 2013

Our Grand Daughter Alexa


We have a very wonderful almost 16 year old granddaughter.  She is the Apple of her father's eye, a   straight A student, a High School Soccer Star and a wonderful light to the world. Her mother, our daughter Leslie, often sells me she does not deserve Alexa. I tell Leslie to just count her parential blessings about her wonderful child and stop complaining.

 For an English assignment the class was to write a poem about something negative. Alexa's English teacher was so impressed with her approach to the assignment that she called mom, and told her what great insight Alexa had for a 15 10/12 High School Sophomore.

STOP COMPLAINING By Alexa Power

You live in a good place.
There are reasons to have a smiling face reasons to laugh
and sometimes reason to cry
but sometimes we forget why.


Iʼm tired
today I am really really tired.
Do you have a bed?
I sleep outside on the streets
on the cold, hard ground.
I
ʼm lucky if I find a nice planter to give myself a little comfort.
You don
ʼt have to go to bed late.
You don
ʼt have to check instagram twenty times before you go to sleep. You have it way better than others...
So stop complaining!


Iʼm cold
Holy crap I
ʼm freezing.
Do you have a jacket?
I live in Africa,
without a single piece of clothing to cover my body.
At nights I nearly freeze to death
and wonder what it
ʼs like to have the protection of a single blanket. Itʼs definitely not snowing.
You have the choice to bring a sweater.
Come prepared.
You live in way nicer weather than some people...
So stop complaining!


I hate school
I passionately hate school.
You get to go to school?
I wish I could read, write, and remember
I wish I could get an education.
I wish I didn
ʼt get confused with all of the letters mixed up into combinations. You have the opportunity to go to college.
You can get a good job.
You can make money and continue to live a good life...
So stop complaining!


Iʼm hungry
I
ʼm so hungry that I could eat a horse.
You had cereal for breakfast?
I
ʼm starving, yet feel nothing at all.
I haven
ʼt eaten since I was at that dumpster yesterday morning. Itʼs hard searching the streets for crumbs and droppings of food. Sometimes I go a full two days without eating something edible. Itʼs as if every piece of food is running its way out of my reach. You have a pantry full of food at home.
Pack yourself a lunch.
It
ʼs your own choice...
So stop complaining!


Next time think about the conditions of the world
before you open your mouth
because there are people who don
ʼt have it as good as you do. I try to stop myself from complaining
and so should you. 


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